Gwrych Castle was once beautiful, but the walls were now crumbling. The rooms, once filled with people, food, wine and laughter, were now quiet.
I stepped into the room, held up my camera and took some pictures. I wasn't supposed to be in here, especially alone. I couldn't pass it up though, I needed to come here. I don't know why, but I did.
The windows on the back wall were stained glass and it shone into the room. I slowly walked towards it, holding my camera up and taking a picture. My head snapped to the left when I heard a noise. It sounded like coughing.
I turned my camera off and let it hang around my neck as I walked towards where the sound came from.
When I pushed open the wooden oak door, I stopped and my breath caught in my throat.
There sitting on a throne was a man. He had long gray hair and a long gray beard. A rusted gold crown sat atop his head and his dark brown eyes looked at me.
"You've come" he smiled, "Finally"
"I-Uh-What?" I stammered.
"You've come and now I can finally rest" he slowly got up, "I've been waiting so long for you" he walked towards me.
"I don't know what you're talking about" I took a step back, "I'm not supposed to be here"
"You had a feeling, right?"
I stared for a moment, "No" I finally answered and when I went to take another step back, I felt something cold against my neck.
My body tensed up and I felt a hand on my shoulder.
"Don't run" the voice said. It was deep and tense.
The old man was in front of me now, "You've come to save me" his smile widened.
I grimaced. His teeth were rotting and his gums were gray.
With shaky hands he reached up and took his crown off, "It's you're time Lincoln"
"How do you know my name?"
"I told you. You had a feeling to come here"
I shook my head, "No, no, no" my voice rose, "This is a prank right?" I started to laugh, "Connor put you up to this didn't he?" I looked around the room, "Where are you Connor!" I yelled, "Come out you little shit, this isn't funny!"
"This is no prank" the old man said.
"What do you want with me old man?"
The man gripped my shoulder tighter, "You do not insult the King! You will listen"
"King?" I looked back at the old man.
"I am King Mathis, your ancestor and you've finally come to take over"
"Take over what?"
"My kingdom"
"Kingdom?" I looked around again, "This castle is falling apart! No one has lived here in centuries"
King Mathis smiled sadly, "That's not true Lincoln. Just because you can't see it doesn't mean it isn't there"
"What?"
He reached up and sat the crown on my head, "Welcome to the Kingdom of the Dead"
When his hands fell everything changed.
The once empty room was filled with people, all wearing robes and dresses. They stopped talking and stared at me. I felt fear rise up in me.
Somethings wrong. The knife at my throat was gone and the man stepped in front of me.
"I am Sir Cal and I am at your service" he bowed to me.
As Cal bowed a collective gasp went through the room and one by one everyone bowed to me. I went to rub my pants and froze when my hand brushed against fur. I quickly looked down and froze.
I wasn't wearing my jeans or my hoodie anymore. I was in a gold tunic, brown brais with gold trim and a dark brown fur robe. I felt my breath speed up and my throat stared to close up.
"King Lincoln breathe"
"But I have to go back" I turned around to take a step, but froze.
There was a knight walking towards me. He wore chain mail, a black leather breast plate that had a lion burned into it and he carried a sword in his left hand.
"So, you're the new King" he stopped a couple feet in front of me, a nasty grin played on his face, "This will be easy"
I blinked and he swung his sword.
"Shit!" I ducked and took a step back, "What are you doing?" my side hit the floor and I scrambled to get up as the knight took a step towards me.
"What am I doing?" he chuckled, "I'm going to kill you and become King"
My eyes shot over to Sir Cal and he was frowning at me, "Do something!" I yelled.
He shook his head, "I can't do anything my King. This is the way of the Kingdom of the Dead" his face hardened, "You must kill him if you want to live"
I stared at the knight as he swung.
"I'm going to die"
This is an entry for the Action Write to Rank 2022 contest for the Orange Belt round.
Word count: 800
Prompt: Urban Exploration is a hobby, but tonight something feels... wrong. What happens? You can use any characters and any setting as long as it's action packed. Oh, and you can only write in active voice.
